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Brazil's Bolsonaro, Lula spar in first debate as personal attacks fly

  • On Sunday, October 18, 2026, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro held their first televised debate in São Paulo, where Lula called his opponent 'a habitual liar'.
  • Deep polarization defines the race following the October 4, 2026, first round, where Bolsonaro led with 47% to Lula’s 45%, prompting intense debate over corruption and economic policy within the country.
  • A BTG Pactual/Nexus poll released Monday shows a statistical tie, with Bolsonaro at 50.3% and Lula at 49.7% of valid votes, falling within the 2-point margin of error.
  • Facing a daily fine of around $200,000, Meta must prove compliance with a Superior Electoral Court order to treat both campaigns equally after Lula’s team alleged 'algorithmic manipulation' by the platform.
  • Candidates now focus on the 33 million voters who abstained in the first round, as they prepare for a final debate on Friday, October 23, 2026, just two days before the decisive runoff.
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270 Articles

Lean Right

The presidential candidate asked Lula to do the same since 2003 and not only since 2018.

·Guayaquil, Ecuador
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Center

Meta claims that she complied with a Brazilian court order to treat both electoral campaigns equally, and denied having taken measures to favor one of the parties.

·Warsaw, Poland
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Center

Shortly before the presidential election in Brazil, both candidates demand the exclusion of each other.

·Germany
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Center

Shortly before the final election in Brazil, the election campaign between Lula and Bolsonaro is intensifying. Both presidential candidates are now taking legal action against each other in order to cancel the candidacy.

·Hamburg, Germany
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Center

Opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro maintains leadership in the polls for the second round held this Sunday in Brazil, although the distance from President Lula da Silva narrowed in the latest reports and remains inside...

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Lean Right

After hand in hand among the candidates, full of crosses and Chicanas, on Sunday the new President is elected. Both Lula and Bolsonaro denounce the misuse of social networks to ask the Justice to cancel the candidacy of the rival.

·Buenos Aires, Argentina
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A Gazeta Brasil apresenta as últimas notícias sobre governo Bolsonaro, Lava Jato, Planalto, Congress broke the news on Friday, October 16, 2026.
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